Elton John ‎– The Diving Board / Mercury ‎Audio CD 2013 / 3743912

Elton John ‎– The Diving Board / Mercury ‎Audio CD 2013 / 3743912 UPC 00602537439126 Product Details: Label: Mercury ‎– 3743912 Format: CD, Album Country: Europe Released: 2013 Genre: Rock, Blues, Pop Style: Ballad Description: The Diving Board is the twenty-ninth studio album by British singer-songwriter Elton John.[2] It is the second of his studio releases since 1979's Victim of Love without any of his regular band members.[3][4] The album was released in the United Kingdom on 16 September 2013, and debuted at No. 3 on the UK album chart, his highest-charting studio album in that country since 2001's Songs from the West Coast, and at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. It is also his highest-charting solo album in the United States since Blue Moves in 1976. However, after just eight weeks the album fell off the charts completely. The album's premiere single, "Home Again", was released on 24 June 2013, the same day the album became available for pre-order. On 28 August 2013, a video for "Mexican Vacation (Kids in the Candlelight)" was released on YouTube. Editorial Review: So the story goes like this. Inspired by their work on the Leon Russell duet album The Union, producer T-Bone Burnett encouraged Elton John to return to making albums like he used to in the old days for 2013's The Diving Board, harking back to the days when he wrote quickly and recorded with little more than a rhythm section. This all sounds like a major shift in aesthetic for John, but Elton has been on a decade-long quest to tap into that old magic, beginning his voyage into the past with 2001's Songs from the West Coast and getting progressively elliptical with each subsequent release. The Diving Board does indeed evoke ghosts of Elton past but it never suggests the hits. It's an album consisting almost entirely of songs that riff on "Sixty Years On" and "Rotten Peaches" -- long, languid ballads or open-ended blues-rockers where atmosphere trumps hooks. Occasionally, Elton musters up elongated melodies that eventually catch hold, but The Diving Board isn't a collection of finely sculpted pop; it's a set of song poems and ballads, all placing emphasis on mood, not immediacy. This is an exceptional idea in theory; in practice it is ever so slightly formless, floating whenever it should be taking root. There are moments where the tempo gets ever so slightly sprightly -- "Take This Dirty Water" has a dirty gospel shuffle reminiscent of a toned-down "Take Me to the Pilot," "The Ballad of Blind Tom" is faithful to the spirit of Tumbleweed Connection, "Mexican Vacation (Kids in the Candlelight)" not only rocks but has a welcome gust of tastelessness -- but that only emphasizes just how ponderous the rest of the record is. There is much that is admirable about The Diving Board -- the feel is spacious and haunting, the ambition is commendable -- but the emphasis on tone over song means it leaves only wistful wisps of melancholia behind with the actual songs seeming like faded, distant memories. Tracklist: 1 Oceans Away 2 Oscar Wilde Gets Out 3 A Town Called Jubilee 4 The Ballad Of Blind Tom 5 Dream # 1 6 My Quicksand 7 Can't Stay Alone Tonight 8 Voyeur 9 Home Again 10 Take This Dirty Water 11 Dream # 2 12 The New Fever Waltz 13 Mexican Vacation (Kids In The Candlelight) 14 Dream # 3 15 The Diving Board More Details: Art Direction – Mat Maitland Backing Vocals – Alvin Chea, Bill Cantos, Carmel Echols, Judith Hill, Louis Price, Perry Morgan Baritone Saxophone – George Bohanon Bass – Raphael Saadiq Cello – Luka Sulic, Stjepan Hauser Drums – Jay Bellerose Engineer – Chris Owens (2), Jeff Gartenbaum, Vanessa Parr Flugelhorn – Chuck Findley, Darrell Leonard Guitar – Doyle Bramhall II Keyboards – Keefus Ciancia Lead Vocals – Elton John Mastered By – Gavin Lurssen Mixed By – Chris Owens (2), Jason Wormer, Zachary Dawes Organ – Larry Goldings Photography By – Tim Barber Piano – Elton

Virgin EMI Records Rock/Pop Pop Music CD